It took four years of shaving off less than a second from Cole Nordman’s time to set the Mountain West record in the 60-meter hurdles.

When Nordman crossed the finish line Jan. 18 at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Colorado Classic, he did not realize he set the conference record of 7.71. He knew he had a good start and a clean execution through the five hurdles, and shortly after, he finally realized he set Colorado State‘s program record.

“Right now, I think I am the best hurdler in the conference.” –Cole Nordman, CSU hurdler

Nordman went to hurdles coach, J.J. Riese, for a reaction.

“(Riese) always so nonchalant,” Nordman said. “He just goes, ‘Nice job,’ and that’s pretty much it — nothing crazy. And then (Brian Bedard) gave me a big hug, dapped me up and said, ‘You’re a stud.’”

It was not until the following Monday when Nordman saw that he had set the Mountain West record on social media.

Riese did not match the excitement of Nordman after the race only because he said the time followed the natural progression of Nordman’s races this season. He was impressed but not yet satisfied.

Riese said he has his sights set on bigger goals for Nordman. The NCAA indoor championships start March 14, which he believes Nordman is fractions away from qualifying for.

“I don’t want to say it’s expected — that would sound presumptuous,” Riese said. “But it wasn’t like it was a total shock. … I was like, ‘Cool. Great. Now we need another half of a tenth (of a second).’”

That half of a tenth is Nordman’s chance to compete at nationals and consider hurdling after graduating. Otherwise, Nordman said he would move on to starting a career. There are a few technical things Riese needs fourth-year Nordman to improve before that time goes down.

“The goal is to try and make him get indoor nationals, which means he’s probably going to have to run a 7.65,” Riese said. “He has the ability; he has the foot speed. It’s just about him cleaning up the hurdles.”

Sprinter Jack Wetterling often trains with Nordman. Viewing him as an older brother figure, Wetterling said Nordman is one of the best examples of a successful, unrecruited walk-on. Wetterling watched Nordman’s record-setting race and said it was one of the most dialed races Nordman ever ran in the 60-meter hurdles. Even brushing the hurdle on the way over it is enough to add time to a race, which is why Nordman’s technique mastery is so crucial heading into the MW Indoor Track and Field Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Wetterling said he believes the sky is the limit for Nordman.

“He’s definitely been cleaning things up,” Wetterling said. “I still think there’s a lot formwise that can be done with him, which is a good problem because if he is running as fast as he is with some technical issues, once he figures that out, he’s going to be a problem for a lot of people.”

With the Feb. 27 championship looming, Nordman has one more opportunity to run in New Mexico on Feb. 15 before the championship.

Nordman takes goal setting to the max — sometimes too far. What he is sure of, though, are his expectations at the MW championship.

“Right now, I think I am the best hurdler in the conference,” Nordman said. “I want to win those hurdles. That’s my one goal.”

Nordman ran his first 60-meter hurdles in 2021 at the Air Force Holiday Open. His time was 8.30, and he finished sixth. An expression used among the hurdle group to describe Nordman is “a full 360,” meaning that when people first saw Nordman as a hurdler, they turned their backs.

Now, four years later, they have turned back around.

Even with a shaky first year, Nordman learned quickly what it required to reach this level of success. It is amazing what less than a second does to an athlete’s status in a race as short as the 60-meter hurdles.

“I started out as one of the worst hurdle athletes to come into here,” Nordman said. “I was a freshman; I was stupid; I was an idiot; I didn’t try my best. Then come around sophomore year, I really started focusing on track a lot more.”

There are many different things an athlete could tell themselves before a race. As he gets down on the starting line, Nordman could remind himself of all the technical cues needed to shave off that half of a tenth of a second.

But Nordman only has one thought: Don’t lose.

Reach Adam Gross at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @RMCollegianSPTS.